Abstract

Investigating of leisure time activities in male students at IranÃ¢ÂÂs Islamic Azad
University: An emphasis on sports participation

The present study aims to investigate the sport-centered approaches to filling leisure time in male students at Iran’s Islamic Azad University. The population of the study consisted of all undergraduate male students in 14 instructional districts of Islamic Azad University in the 2010-2011 academic year. A number of 1125 students were selected as the participants using multi-step cluster random sampling. Tond Nevis questionnaire (1996) was used to collect the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was originally calculated to be 0.85 and currently calculated to be 0.95 using Cronbach alpha formula. Both X2 and Friedman tests were run to analyze the data. The results showed that students had 2.7 hours leisure time on average every day. During summer holidays, they reported to have 6-12 hours leisure time every day. Their first four priorities for filling leisure time included watching TV, Watching VCD and DVD, leisurely work at the computer (internet, chat, etc) and watching satellite TV broadcasts, respectively. Both male and female students spent most of their leisure time at home or dorm in the first place and at sports-recreational centers either inside or outside the university in the second place. The students agreed that leisure time significantly affected their physical and mental health. They reported that medical advice and habitual training were the strongest incentives for leisure time sports participation. The main reasons why they did not do sports included lack of time, laziness, impatience and lack of training habit, respectively